Dave Geissinger asked in 060419 MMDigest:

> What brand is it?  Who restored it?

At  http://archives.pipechat.org/pipechat/1997/august/digest25.html
Nelson Denton related the liner notes of a 1970s LP album describing
the organ ("Rex Koury plays the famous Scotty's Castle Theatre Organ",
cat. no. 1130, publ. by National Custom Recording Inc., North Hollywood,
California 91606):

  "According to the album notes the organ was purchased in 1927 by J. H.
Nuttall for the castle's owner, Albert Johnson.  (Scotty was his buddy
and the Castle was named after him, not the Johnson's.)  It started
life as a 10-rank [Welte] studio model in Philadelphia and it had four
ranks plus percussions added when it was sold for the Castle.  It had
two roll players added: a single roll player and a 10-roll player, both
from Welte.  The organ was dedicated by Albert Hay Mallotte (The Lords
Prayer) in 1932.  Later in the 1930s rain destroyed the 10-roll player
and the player was later replaced by Lloyd Davey in 1940 with a
Wurlitzer 6-roll changer.  For many years a roll of Jesse Crawford's
"Ah, Sweet Mystery Of Life" was played for every tour group.  It is now
a 3-manual 15-rank organ with grand piano and four tuned percussions
plus traps.  As of the time of the album the organ had not received any
significant changes."

At  http://www.hhuestis.com/osiris/data/welte.scotty-castle.death-valley.ca.us.txt

  "In 1980 the National Park Service had the original relay replaced
with a Peterson relay and Peterson player mechanism.  It is my
understanding that the Welte and Wurlitzer playing mechanism were to
remain intact.  I think Schoenstein got the job."

> Is it still operable?  Is it ever played?

MMDer John Haskey sent these links to articles about recent live
concerts and recordings --

  http://www.death-valley.us/article1309.html
  http://pipedreams.publicradio.org/listings/0606/

-- and at http://www.welchorganist.com/pages/MyLifeInMusic.html
is mention of the player rolls being recorded:

  "After the organ was refurbished in the late 1980's by the Schoenstein
Co. of San Francisco, the California Park Service needed someone to make
some recordings on it.  I was happy to accept the assignment, and I made
the trek out into the desert twice (in 1991 and 1998) to make a series
of recordings of light classical and popular music found in the Castle's
original collection of player rolls."

Robbie Rhodes
Mechanical Music Digest